Game Notes: Rangers vs. Anaheim Ducks

Tonight's Game
The Rangers face-off against the Anaheim Ducks today at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.) in their fourth of five matches vs. Pacific Division opponents this season. The Blueshirts are currently in fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings with a record of 27-23-6, and rank seventh in the Eastern Conference with 60 points. New York enters the contest having been defeated by the Kings, 4-2, Tuesday at Madison Square Garden and have now won five of their last seven games. The Rangers have posted a record of 0-3-0 vs. Pacific Division opponents this season after registering a 4-1-0 mark last season. Following today's contest, the Rangers will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Saturday, February 9, at the Wachovia Center (1:00 p.m.). The Ducks, 28-22-7, are currently in third place in the Pacific Division standings with 63 points and have lost six of their last seven games.

Tune In Tonight!
Tonight's game will be televised on MSG. You can also catch the radio broadcast on 1050 ESPN New York.

Rangers vs. Ducks Pre-Game Notes:

* The Rangers are 17-12-0 at MSG this season; The Ducks have posted a 12-15-3 record in 30 road contests.

* The Rangers are 0-3-0 against the Pacific Division this season; The Ducks are 1-2-0 vs. Atlantic Division opponents.

* New York has posted a record of 5-2-0 in their last seven games, tallying 19 goals and holding opponents to a 1.73 goals against average (12 goals) over the span.

* The Rangers registered 24 shots on goal during the second period of Tuesday's game vs. the Kings, their highest total for a single period since they delivered 24 shots in the third period vs. the Islanders on April 11, 2006.

* The Rangers have registered 28 power play goals in their last 145 opportunities for a success rate of 19.3%.

* New York has held their opponents scoreless on the power play in six of their last eight contests.

* The Blueshirts are 3-1-0 vs. Anaheim in their last four contests; Two of those wins came in overtime - November 19, 2002 (3-2) and November 1, 2006 (4-3).

* In their only meeting last season, Jaromir Jagr (one goal and one assist) tallied the game-winning goal in overtime and Brendan Shanahan registered a game-high, three points (one goal and two assists) to lead the Rangers to a 4-3 victory; The Blueshirts notched two goals in nine power play opportunities (22.2%) while holding the Ducks scoreless in six power play attempts (100.0%).

* Jaromir Jagr has collected 26 points (13 goals and 13 assists) in 17 career games vs. Anaheim; Brendan Shanahan has registered 41 points (23 goals and 18 assists) in 47 career games vs. the Ducks; Chris Drury has recorded 18 points (nine goals and nine assists) in 21 career contests vs. Anaheim.

* Brandon Dubinsky has recorded a point in each of the last four games, registering two goals and two assists during the stretch; His current four-game scoring streak is a career-high for the rookie, who currently ranks ninth in the NHL among rookies in scoring (23 points).

* Martin Straka is two points shy of 700 career points; Currently, he has registered 253 goals and 445 assists for 698 points in 927 games.

* Eric Hunter, the Rangers' third round pick (77th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, has registered 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points in 25 games with the University of Alberta Golden Bears of the Canadian Interuniversity Sports League (CIS) this season; The first-year player is tied for the team lead in game-winning goals (three), and ranks fourth in power play goals (four), fifth in points (28), and is tied for sixth in goals (11) and seventh in assists (17).

Recent New York Rangers Games
Last 5 NYR games: 3-2-0
Last 10 NYR games: 6-3-1

Injuries
* Marcel Hossa has missed the last six games with a back injury.

* Marek Malik suffered a knee contusion on Thursday at Philadelphia, and has missed three games.

* Brendan Shanahan suffered a leg injury on Friday at New Jersey, and has missed two games.

* The Rangers have lost 100 manpower games due to injury or illness this season.

Highlights from Hartford
Follow the progress of the Rangers' top prospects:

The Wolf Pack finished up a season-high five-game homestand on Wednesdaynight with a 3-1 Atlantic-Division victory over the Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles affiliate). The win was the Pack's fifth in their last six games, and they now have at least a standings point in eight straight contests (5-0-2-1), tying a season high for longest unbeaten-in-regulation streak, and 12 of their last 13 (9-1-2-1). The Wolf Pack will visit the league-leading Providence Bruins (Boston affiliate) tomorrow night (7:05), and then will be off until Wednesday evening (7:00), when they will host Springfield (Edmonton affiliate).

Individual highlights of the Pack's recent games included:

Brodie Dupont assisted on Jordan Owens’ GWG last night vs. Manchester and has points in three of his last four games (2-2-4), after managing only one assist in his previous 24 outings.

Andrew Hutchinson scored the Pack’s only goal in Saturday’s 2-1 shootout loss vs. Bridgeport. He has 3-6-9 in his last eight games and ranks third among AHL defensemen in points (38) and assists (29). He was named captain of the Wolf Pack on Jan. 25.

Al Montoya returned to the Wolf Pack net last night, in his first action since January 19th, and earned Second-Star honors with 22 saves in the Pack’s 3-1 win over Manchester.

Greg Moore is tied for second in the AHL in plus/minus, at a +23. He represented the Wolf Pack at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic, presented by Reebok, last Sunday and Monday in Binghamton, NY.

P.A. Parenteau took over the Wolf Pack team goal-scoring lead with his 19th of the season (ENG) last night against Manchester. He earned First-Star honors in Friday’s 6-2 home win over Springfield, with two goals and is tied for 10th in the AHL in points (47).